Maximum Metal Rating Legend

Another installment of Nhor's "Wildflowers" quadrilogy is upon us. 'Wildflowers: Autumn' continues to showcase Nhor's ability to capture the mood of the seasons with stirring, emotive piano work.

As the opening notes of "Where They Once Were" begins to seep into your ears, you begin to feel as though you have been placed in a real-life, time-lapsed photo of the leaves changing colors on the trees before gently swirling down to the ground, plucked loose and guided down by a phantom hand. While you are observing the falling leaves, the subtle melody of "The Trees Knew Not of Me Then" worms its way into your head like a creature seeking solace from the temperature change that is imminent. Looking up through the parted branches of the trees, you are bathed in "Moonfall" and this track starts off slowly before wrapping you in its pale glow and comfort. As the song truly kicks in, you become awash in the cool comfort of moonlight as it shows you things that are hidden by the brightness of the sun. The almost melancholic nature of the track begs you to look inward and reflect upon the changes that have wrought not only the world around you but also within yourself. "We Set Their Bodies Free in the Cold River", sends some part of you off into the night, slowly carried away by the meandering piano and gentle flow of the river, never to be seen again.

As you begin to find your way out of the forest, "What We Hid in the Night" reminds you of what you've just left behind and the introspective piano work touches deep inside of your being to help you realize that you are about to experience a reinvention of yourself. Color begins to make its way out from inside you as "Fire Promises Guidance" gives you a Phoenix rebirth, the opening notes of which help you mourn the part of you that you are casting off. Then the song shifts directions and your new identity springs to life out of the flames and ash of your old skin, glistening and new.

Returning to the clearing you first spied the forest from, you realize that this ritual journey you just undertook was "Fate" and has now been completed. As the soulful, haunting notes of the piano echo inside your head, you are ready to face whatever challenges lie ahead and embrace them as the night embraces the surrounding trees. Nhor's masterful piano work truly makes this an incredibly immersive experience and allows you to really interpret the music as it speaks to you. I've never heard music that allows so much for individual interpretation that also retains an enigmatic beauty that is hard to correlate into appropriate words. I am very excited to see what the final chapter holds but also quite sad as I know that will be the end of this wondrous quadrilogy of work.